Ahir, Guardian of Malor, Chapter 13: Milton Missing Part 1

Ahir stood in front of the stove and three beef patties sizzled in a frying pan. He prodded the patties with his flipper before he flipped them over with a loud hiss when the grease hit the pan. He smiled and pulled nine slices of cheese off of a pile sitting next to the frying pan, and placed three on each burger. He placed a lid over the pan and turned the heat off.

Trixie walked into the living room looking at her phone in confusion. “I just got a phone call from Milton, and all I heard was a scream. I sure hope that something terrible didn’t happen to him.”

Ahir shrugged. “If there is anything I’ve learned about Milton through all of this, it’s that he can take care of himself. I wouldn’t be too worried about it. Maybe he butt dialed us.”

Ahri nodded. “He may not like it, but I think you should. He may have been trying to contact us about a portal opening.”

Trixie typed in Milton’s number. She held it up to her ear for a moment or two, and shook her head. “It went straight to his voicemail. Why do you think he’d have his phone turned off?”

Ahir lifted the lid off of the pan and sniffed the burgers. “I don’t know Trixie. Maybe he’s in class.”

Trixie frowned but nodded. She looked over at the burgers and smiled. “Are they done?”

Ahri smiled back at her. “Yes, with three slices of cheese on each patty, this is my attempt at making a mooey-gooey burger. I’m sure they’re not cheesy enough though.”

Bar’bou bounded into the room and jumped up onto the counter. “Has Milton issued communication concerning the appearance of any portals? The existence of such a phenomenon has come to my attention.”

Ahir and Trixie turned and stared at Bar’bou. Ahir itched his head. “What did you say?”

Bar’bou sighed. “Your limited comprehension is a considerable hindrance. I asked if Milton had contacted either of you about a portal opening, because one has opened.”

Ahir looked at Trixie. “You should try to call Milton again, these portals have been coming in groups of two.”

Trixie pulled her phone out and dialed Milton’s phone number. The phone went straight to Milton’s voicemail once more, and Trixie shook her head.

Ahir pulled the apron he was wearing over his head and set it on the counter. “These burgers are going to have to wait, we have to go and check out that open portal.” Ahir walked around the corner and picked his backpack up. Bar’bou jumped onto his shoulder and Trixie ran over to the front door and picked up her shield. Sil’abo’s head perked up from where he was taking a nap next to the heater.

“Are we going somewhere?”

Trixie nodded. “Something may have happened to Milton. Bar’bou felt a portal open up, but Milton didn’t call to tell us about any others.”

Sil’abo jumped up to his feet. “We had best hurry then, there is no time to waste!”

Trixie pulled the door open and ran out into the hall, followed by Ahir and Sil’abo. Once they made it out onto the street Ahir said, “Which way do we go now, Bar’bou?”

Bar’bou pointed to the left. “Our objective is positioned in the south!”

Ahir started running down the sidewalk with Trixie and Sil’abo following. “I heard the word south, so that’s the direction I’m heading!” Bar’bou crossed his arms and started muttering on Ahir’s shoulder. Ahir was only able to make out a word or two, but the ones he heard he didn’t understand, so he mostly ignored him and focused on running.

After fifteen minutes of running Bar’bou shook his head. “We failed to react hastefully enough. The portal has closed.”

Ahir kept on running. “Can you still guide me to where the portal was? Maybe we can make it there before Milton leaves.”

Bar’bou nodded his head. “Yes, the distance remaining is quite minute. Round the next corner to your right!”

Ahir turned the corner, and found a street in disarray. Cars were overturned and lamp posts were knocked over on the deserted street. Ahir shook his head. “It doesn’t look like Milton was here. Trixie, try calling Milton one more time.”

Ahir gave Trixie a sympathetic look. “I’d be more worried about whatever is preventing him from making it here. I wouldn’t want to try to stop Milton from doing what he wants. You should give detective Miguel a phone call and see if Milton ever checked in with them.”

Trixie entered detective Miguel’s phone number and listened to it ring. “Hello? This is detective Miguel, what can I do for you?”

“Detective Miguel, this is Trixie. I was wondering if Milton had called about any portals opening today.”

“No, and I have a bone to pick with him. We’ve gotten reports of monsters rampaging downtown and kidnapping people! I thought that he had agreed to tell us when this sort of thing was going to happen.”

Trixie’s face went pale. “More people were taken?”

Detective miguel sighed. “Yes, we have reports of five more people being taken. We have officers on their way to the scene to investigate, but they were taken through one of those portals, weren’t they?”

“Yes, most likely. I think something must have happened to Milton, that’s the only reason I can think of that he wouldn’t have shown up to try and prevent this from happening.”

“I’ll have my officers keep an eye out for him, and I’ll send someone over to check out his apartment.”

“Would it be alright if I went along with them? I’m worried about what may have happened to him.”

“That would be fine. That monkey Bar’bou has the ability to sense when portals open as well, correct?”

“Yes, that’s why we think that Milton might be in trouble.”

“I think for the time being we’re going to have an officer with the two of you at all times. They should be able to get you to the portal sites fast enough to prevent something like this from happening again.”

“That sounds like a good idea. I’ll let Ahir know about what’s going on and wait for the police officers to pick me up.”

“Where are you at?”

“Ahir and I are at the location where the portal opened downtown.”

“Okay, sit tight and a couple of officers will pick you and Ahir up in a little bit.”

Thank you for checking out my story, if you liked this and want to see more of it, come back on Wednesday when I will publish part two, and check out the other stories I’m working on writing, here: Tales of the Imagination, check out my facebook page to connect with me and give me some feedback: Facebook, and follow me on Twitter here: @EJBorchardt. Please like, comment, and tell your friends if you like what you’ve read.Also, if you enjoy reading my stories, and you enjoy drawing, I’m looking for pictures of my characters. If you want to send me your fan art, I promise to include it with some of my posts! I look forward to seeing that art!